Former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam today laid the foundation stone for Sankhya -- the National Museum of Statistics at the University of Hyderabad. The 20,000-sft museum is to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 6 crore at the UoH campus.
Sankhya, the brainchild of Prof CR Rao, is designed to showcase the history of statistics and data relating to people and the state.
It would serve as a repository of current information on issues related to health, education and economy for the public. It would provide information on the emergence of statistics as a method for solving problems in all areas of human endeavor.
Kalam said statistics is required in the fields of agriculture, weather forecasting, economy, genetics, biometric, medicine, and it is also used to locate terrorist threats, launch missiles and in policy making. Statistical literacy would be a great asset in future to lead a better life, he said.
The museum would prepare itself to face future challenges, towards cyber and information security.
Vijay Kumar Saraswat, scientific adviser to the defense minister and director general, DRDO, said, “India today requires a large number of mathematicians and statisticians to ensure cyber security and for safety for its armed forces.”